


take me quickly (before I'm once again pulled away)

by piraterea



Series: Mal x Harry [1]
Category: Descendants (Disney Movies)
Genre: ALL THE ANGST, Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, F/M, First Love, Isle of the Lost (Disney), Jealous Ben, Mutual Pining, Other Additional Tags to Be Added, Protective Harry Hook, Secret Relationship, Slow Burn, VKs | Villain Kids (Disney), ben isn't the bad guy, broken mal, buckle your seat belts bitches, cocky harry hook, dont hate the player hate the game, full of emotion yet supposedly emotionless, he's gonna fix her, idk - Freeform, its gonna be a long fucking ride, so dont hate on me for it, swear on it, totally optional, you dont gotta read it
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2020-10-09
Updated: 2020-11-10
Packaged: 2021-03-07 21:47:54
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 7
Words: 17,621
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/26894698
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/piraterea/pseuds/piraterea
Summary: Mal, Evie, Jay, and Carlos are all sent to Auradon to the beginning of a new life. But only one of them is hanging on to the past. Mal had a secret, and nobody could know. A certain hook-handed, red pirate coat wearing secret.Harry Hook.That is who she wants, who she needs by her side.She did every single day, and nobody even knew.FOR THE HATERS: This is 100% optional. So if you don't like this pairing, you don't have to read. But don't come here and shit on my writing because you don't agree with it. Thank you! :):)
Relationships: Evie & Jay & Mal & Carlos de Vil, Harry Hook/Mal, Minor or Background Relationship(s)
Series: Mal x Harry [1]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1962235
Comments: 20
Kudos: 68





	1. Chapter 1

**Author's Note:**

> QUICK NOTE!!! PLEASE READ!!!
> 
> Did you actually read this? If so, thank you. I feel the need to say this as many people do not believe in this ship. You don't have to read this fanfiction. It is 100% optional. If you enjoy this ship and this story, then please read, but if you don't then don't come here and hate on me for writing about it. You have the complete right to not like this ship, but you don't have to read it, then put others down for writing something you might not enjoy, but other people do.
> 
> Thank you.
> 
> (But for me, that ship has sailed and you can't convince me otherwise).

Mal’s eyes open, waking her to the day. She groans softly and turns to her side, falling into a body. At first she panics. Who is in my bed? She knows it isn’t Evie, she is out for the day with her mother obsessing over her mother’s new mirror polish. So who the hell was this? Before she can say or do anything, the memories of the night before come back to her.

_Flashback-_

_“Hey, Harry” Mal says before he can even get to her. He thinks he’s slick. But he knew he would find her here, so she guessed they both aren’t very slick. “What yeh doing down here, all by yah lonesome?” He asks her, accent thick, with a cocky eyebrow raised high and she rolls her eyes._

_“What do you want? I’m not in the mood” she asks, looking around the dock to see no one in sight. He seems to notice, because he was looking as well. “Well, what are yeh in the mood for?” He asks, sitting beside her. She bites her lip nervously and her eyes dart back and forth in the sand, nervous for who could be watching. “You shouldn’t be down here” she mutters and looks at him. His eyes glint in amusement and she scoffs mockingly. When she looks away from him, he looks her up and down. She looked good. She was wearing a dark purple tank top and black ripped up jeans. He knew she wore that on purpose, just to get to him. He supposed he didn’t mind. As long as he got to rip it off of her the second her door was locked behind them._

_She seemed to sense his mood, because she stands up and wipes the sand from her thighs. She looks up at the moon which glistens off the dirty Isle water in the ocean. “Yeh shouldn’t be out here by yourself, Mal. Baaad things happen in the dark, with not a soul in sight!” He whispers in her ear and sees the blush creep onto her cheeks. “I can handle my own, thank you very much. Goodnight Harry” she says walking away, knowing good and well he would be sneaking into her window when she was sure no one was home. To make her chant his name like a prayer. So he can whisper sweet nothings into her ears while she came undone beneath him. She knew good and well what was going to happen._

_He watches her walk away and leaves as well when he can no longer see her shadow in the street._

_\- - -_

_Sure enough, when she got home and locked her door, he was already sitting on her bed, a pillow resting on his lap. She jumps on the bed and into his arms. “Hello, love” he whispers as he holds her. Sure, he just saw her, but she knew what he meant. He hadn’t truly seen her. He had seen the facade she put on when she couldn’t be in his arms outside of these walls. He hadn’t seen this Mal. The one he loved and wanted every single day._

_“Hi” She mutters into his chest, closing her eyes and humming when his fingers comb through her hair. That was one of his favorite things to do. He would always be touching her hair. Wether it was to play with little strands in the morning when the sun was shining on it just right, or when they were too tired in the night to do anything, they would fall asleep with his hands in her hair and her arms around his neck, holding each other tight. PDA was also a big part of their relationship._

_Technically, they weren’t sure if whatever they were was even something to be labeled. They never uttered the words boyfriend or girlfriend. The word love had only been said in their minds when they were so deep in the pool of the other, they didn’t want to be pulled out. Those 3 words were rare on the Isle of the Lost. Here, love was a weakness. So they never even dared to try to label what this was, in fear of what would happen. But he knew that he was hers and she was his. And that was enough for them._

_“No one can know” she would always say before he left or when he first arrived via window or when they met in hidden alleyways where no one could see or hear them. And she was right, Uma and Mal were on different sides of a war that had existed for longer then the two of them. And Harry was stuck on Uma’s side of it. What she would do to either of them if she found out… they didn’t want to know. But they knew they couldn’t risk that. Same goes for her side of it, Mal didn’t want her mother to find out and possibly use him as a pawn in one of her games. So no one knew._

_“I wish we could stay like this forever” she mutters later that night, when he held her against his chest, both sweaty and shirtless. “I know, love. You know I do too. But no one truly gets there way on the Isle of the Lost” he sighs, eyes drooping drowsily. “No rest for the wicked” she murmurs, falling into sleep in his arms._

Now-

Her memories of the previous night coming back to her, she smiles drowsily to herself and curls up in his arms. As if by reflex, he grabs her waist and pulls her in closer, laying his chin on the top of her head. At first she thinks he is awake but then hears soft snores leaving his body and feels the smooth up and down of his chest on her own. She smiles in his warmth and curls her long legs around the pirate’s waist, hoping to be any closer to him. Wrapped up in the warm body before her, Mal falls asleep easily.

\- - -

When Mal wakes up again she sees Harry awake beside her, running his hook through her hair. “Good morning, my dragon” he whispers and she smirks, curling a finger through one of his many brown locks. “Good morning, pirate” she whispers back and he grins a wild, insane grin that he knew she loved. He climbs on top of her softly and traces the curves of her face slowly with his hands. “Do the eye thing” he breathes and she furrows her eyebrows in embarrassment.

“Please? For me?” he begs, running his hook down her jaw line.

She sighs, but obliges and she watches as fascination takes over his face when her eyes flash a bright green. Every time he saw her, _his her,_ he would ask her almost twice an hour to flash the green at him again. “Beautiful” he declares into the fairy’s ear and kisses down her neck. She lets out a small whimper when he bites down and she knew what he was trying to do. “Mmmh. Maybe I’ll mark yeh as mine, love. Let everyone know you belong to me and only me. My little dragon” he murmurs as he leaves soft pecks along her jaw and she feels blush run along her cheeks and the back of her neck.

“Harry” she whines and he chuckles, making her more impatient as his soft, cool breath hits small strands of hair on her neck. “Patience is a virtue, love” he mocks and she scowls, pulling his face up to hers. “Virtues don’t exist here” she mutters, pulling his lips to hers passionately. His lips taste like the salt of the ocean and she loves it. She loves and needs every kiss he gives her, every hug, every cuddle before they go to sleep, and every time she thinks the words _I love you, Harry Hook_ before she falls into the void that is sleep.

\- - -

A week had gone by and everything seemed fine. At least, that’s what Harry thought. A full week went by full of secret rendezvous’ with Mal and plotting with Uma. So when he came into Mal’s window one night and saw her crying in a corner, he was immediately worried. “Hey, love? What’s going on? Who hurt yeh, Mal?” He whispers, pulling her into his arms. She sobs and curls into his body.

“I-I'm so s-sorry. She’s making me! I’m sorry!” She cries and he runs his fingers through her hair gently to try and calm her down.

“Hey Mal, just tell me what happened. Yah scaring me, and yeh know I don’t scare easy” he mutters and she tries to pause her sobs. “My… mom. They’re making us go to Auradon, Harry” she cries and feels him go stiff beside her. “What?” He whispers, voice constricted and she knew he was trying to hide the anger that was coursing through every inch of his body. She also knew he heard her loud and clear.

“I won’t let them. I won’t let them take yeh away.” He mutters, holding her tighter to him as if when he let go she would disappear, and she shakes her head.

“Harry, no. I don’t want you on my mom’s bad side. And then news will spread and Uma will find out. I can’t risk that” she says and he shakes his head.

“Mal, fuck your mom. Fuck Uma. I will not let yeh escape me that easily, understand love?”.

She just shakes her head and cries into the crook of his neck as he holds her close. He held her as tight as he can, hoping if he held on tight enough, no one would find her and she could stay in his arms forever. “So much for forever, eh?” He mutters and feels something wet fall down his face. In confusion, he wiped at his face and came back with… a tear? He hasn’t cried in over a decade. The only time he probably ever cried was when his mother left him and his family when he was 5. His father told him crying won’t make anything better and it’s just a waste of time and energy so he never did it again.

Yet here he was, crying for the second time in his life.

Mal looks up at him and laughs softly to hide her breaking heart. “Ok… um, we are going to get through this, yeah?” She wipes at another tear that falls from his eye and he nods. “My mother wants me to steal Fairy Godmother’s magic wand so we can bring down the barrier. I’m going to come back for you, Harry Hook. I swear on it” she whispers, leaning her forehead against his own.

“You better. No going and falling for some proper prince” he smirks and she smiles, tears still glistening in her eyes.

“If we’re leaving tomorrow, I need you tell you something, ok?” She asks and he nods, tracing a pattern along her cheek with his hook.

“I… I love you, Harry Hook. I don’t think I can stop loving you” she sighs and he looks at her, his hook freezing in place.

“Mal, yah already know how much I love yeh. I will say it over and over again if I have to. I love yeh, my beautiful princess. _My_ princess” he says and she sighs happily. “I’m tough. I’m still tough, right?” She asks and he looks her dead in the eye when he says, “Mal, you are the toughest and bravest person I will ever meet”.

She nods and brings his lips to her own. “I love you” she whispers onto his lips and he smiles, deepening the kiss, praying to hear those words uttered from her lips again. Those three words are the only thing he ever wants to hear again as long as they’re coming from her lips.

“I love you too, ma wee dragon” he mutters, pulling her up from the corner. He drags her to the bed and lays her back down. Her lips were salty from her tears and it only made him want her more. He kisses down her jaw and along her neck and he groans slightly as she pulls tightly on his hair when he nips and sucks at her neck. He wanted to mark her as his. Let every last one of those Auradon preppies know she was taken, that she was spoken for. And that he had no intention of letting her go.

“I want you so badly” she whispers, but he only keeps attacking at her neck. “Oh, love, the things I want to do ta yeh.” He whispers into her ear as pulls her shirt over head. “I want ta possess yeh” he pulls at her belt, “Worship yah” pulls his own shirt off, “Devour you” he elongates the syllables when he breathes them out, watching her shiver beneath him.

“Then do it already” she mutters.

“Impatient, eh?” He teases, pulling at strands of her hair and she whines.

“Evie will be back soon. You better hurry up” she threatens and he scoffs.

“Love, I plan to make love ta yeh all night long. There is no escaping this” he mumbles against her open chest, pulling the bra step away. He can feel the blush that betrays her against his lips. “Harry!” She complains, but he only chuckles and kisses down to her stomach, knowing he can mark her to his hearts content anywhere a shirt or pants can cover.

He nibbles at her stomach and she mutters something about him bitching around. She can feel the smile of his lips on her stomach when she says this. “I really don’t want Evie to find out this way” she groans when she watches him pull her jeans to her feet. He climbs back up her body, trailing his lips along her bare skin.

“Aye, love, but yeh haven’t given me a valid reason to stop yet. Besides, I don’t really see yeh stopping me” he mutters against her lips, looking in admiration as her eyes spark green at him and she sighs in defeat.

Luckily, Evie didn’t turn up that night, or any of the other Vk’s in her gang. Which was lucky for them, because Harry was true to his word. He _did_ make love to her every second of the night. If it was their last night together, they were going to make it worthwhile.

\- - -

When Mal woke in Harry’s arms she wanted to cry again. Apparently, Harry could sense this, because he awoke and pulled her closer to his shirtless body. “I could just hide yah here forever.” He suggests and she shakes her head. “They would find me” she murmurs into his arm when she wraps it around her body. “All right then, love. It’s time to go, then” he lamented and stands from the comfort of her bed.

He holds out a hand for her to take and she slips a pout lip at him, but lets him help her up. He helps her pull on some fresh clothes in silence, sharing everything they wanted to say with shared looks and soft kisses. She helps him with his guyliner and he helps her by brushing his fingers through her knotted hair to try and comb it out the slightest bit. When she is ready to go, she hears a knock on her door.

“M, you ready?” Evie’s voice calls. It freaks her out a bit, because she doesn’t remember Evie arriving home. Harry seems to sense her worry because he tells her quietly, “She got home early this morning when you were asleep”. Mal nods and turns to the door, “Almost, give me a sec” she calls and hears Evie walk away from her locked door.

Harry holds her face in his hands like it was the world. To him it was. “Don’t go turning into a pretty pink princess on me, ok princess?” He asks and Mal scowls. “I’m not a princess. I will always be a villain kid.” She mutters and he chuckles. He rests his chin on the top of her head and kisses her purple hair. “You’re _my_ princess and _my_ dragon and _my_ witch and _my_ love.” He says, poking her stomach with each nickname. She laughs, despite herself and nods.

She grabs her bag and turns to him. “I love you. No matter what happens, got it pirate?” She says and he nods watching her leave. She reaches for the door handle, but before she can turn it, she runs back to him and leaps into his arms. He catches her easily and holds her tight. “I don’t want to go” she whispers into his ear and he sets her down.

“I know, my dragon. But yeh have to. And I’m sorry but yah can’t get rid of me that easily. Just think of the life we'll have once I'm out, ok? Sailing the world, just you and me, deal?” He mutters, using his hook to brush her hair out of her face. She nods and goes to the door again. This time she does leave, and she doesn’t look back. He wants to be hurt by this, but he couldn’t. Because he knew Mal and he knew she didn’t mean to hurt him, she was just saving herself from the pain of seeing him one last time, knowing it might be the last.

He goes to the window and watches the limo pull up. He watches her step outside and throw her bag into the back. She turns to look at the window he’s standing by and he smirks at her, throwing her a wink. She smirks and steps into the limo, closing the door behind her.

And finally… he watches the limo drive away with his heart towed along.


	2. Chapter 2

3 months later-

It has been 3 months since Harry had last seen Mal. 1 month since he saw she had moved on with the one thing she promised she wouldn’t, a proper prince. But every time he saw her he couldn’t help but feel disgust. Not to her, but to them, _Auradon._ He felt disgust every time he saw her new blond hair, and perfect makeup, and pretty pink or white dresses in one of her many interviews. Because he could see she didn’t like it one bit, he could tell she was unhappy every time he saw one of her fake smiles or the deep sadness in her eyes every time she looked at the camera. He felt disgust because that wasn’t his Mal. Because they fucking tamed her. They tamed _his dragon._

He didn’t want to, god he didn’t want to, but he missed her. He missed her every single day even though he didn’t show it. Of course he couldn’t show it, not a single soul on the Isle knew about the two of them. So what bugged him was, was there anything he truly lost?

“Harry! Harry!” Gil yells, snapping him out of his thoughts.

“What do yeh want, mate” he sighs, running a hand through his hair.

“They got the TV fixed. You know, after Leo broke it with his whiskey when he got mad at the tv so he broke it” Gil rambles, but Harry is already gone.

Turning in circles, Gil sees the direction Harry strutted and follows after him. “Hey Harry, so I know I’m not the smartest guy in the world-“ he starts, “That’s an understatement” Harry mutters and Gil nods, “Yeah, exactly. So I may not be very smart, so correct me if I’m wrong. But is the reason you’ve been so grumpy lately is because Mal has gone off to Auradon with Prince Beastly?” He asks and Harry stops quickly in shock. He had to give Gil props, he definitely knew how to shake a man.

“What in hell are yah talking about?” He says roughly, trying to regain his demeanor. “Well, she left for the Isle and started dating King Ben. And I know you two loved each other so… I was just connecting dots” he says innocently, shrugging a shoulder as they walk, before being slammed into an alleyway by Harry.

“How in _bloody hell_ do you know about that?” He growls, and Gil laughs, despite having a hook to his right eye.

“Was it supposed to be a secret? Oh, my bad. Every time you two saw each other, you always randomly walked away somewhere and you always came back grinning. Plus I saw you two like kissing and stuff in alleys all the time. You two are adorable by the way” Gil laughs and Harry groans, letting him go.

“How many of yah know?” He asks him, leaning his head on the wall.

Gil straightens up, rubbing at where Harry’s hook left a slight mark. “Only me. Everyone always suspected something was there, because you were acting crazy after she left and when she started dating Beast, but you know, only I actually know” Gil says and Harry waves him off.

“So am I right? Is that why you’ve been a real bitch lately?” Gil asks, clearly only caring if he got his trivia points for the day.“Aye, yah diddy, you were correct, I’m being a badger because my… whatever she was left me for a bloody prince without a second fucking thought. Happy?” He mutters and they leave the alleyway.

“That is tough, Harry. Sorry I can’t help you”.

“I don’t care anymore. She made her bloody bed, now she has to fucking lay in it” he mutters distantly, thinking back to the last time he heard those words. At least, the last time those words meant the most to jog his memory every time he heard them.

_Flashback-_

_He fell onto the bed next to the purple haired girl, his hook playing with a loose strand. He could feel her looking at him, but he was glaring at the ceiling. “Harry” she whispers, trying to get his attention. He continued to glare at where the sky should be, to curse the gods for putting him in this situation. “Harry” she mutters again and he turns to her. “Aye, I heard yah the first time, love” he sighs and she nods._

_“What now?” She asks quietly and he shrugs._

_“That is up to you, fairy. I’m here if you want me” he says simply and she scowls._

_“You know how dangerous this could be, right?” She asks, but curls up into him nonetheless. He nods, wrapping a free arm around her. “Aye, but where’s the fun in no danger? Everyone needs a wee bit of danger in their lives” he says and feels a smile on her lips. “I don’t know what to do. I’ve never been in like a real… thing before”._

_“I’ve only slept around with ladies over the Isle. Relationships were always something not a single soul wanted. It shows weakness, a kink in the bloody armor, a disadvantage, you could say” he supplies to her and for a second he wasn’t sure what side he was on._

_“Well, then we don’t have to label it. It can just be… us. You and I. No one will know, so no one can have the bloody kink, so to say” she says and he raises an eyebrow making her smile._

_“Yah don’t like it kinky?” He smirks and she laughs, rolling out of his arms. She climbs out of the bed and grabs a spare shirt off the floor. It was an old oversized t-shirt she had stolen from the market ages ago. He knew, because he was there with her when it happened. Well, not with her, so to say, but he was there as well, which was what started their flirty banter when he noticed her trying to steal it._

_She pulls it on over her bare chest, then comes back onto the bed. She lays beside him and grabs one of her many pillows, pulling it under her head. “I don’t know what to do” she mutters and he runs his hook through her hair._

_She huffs out a breath and turns to him, “Can you not, I’m trying to decide if I should continue this or cut it off and you’re not making it any easier” she says and he laughs loudly, continuing to run his hook up and down her body as she tries to think._

_Giving up on thinking now, she grabs his hook off his hand and waves it away from him. His eyes widen, defining his guyliner. “Mal, love, don’t do something you’ll regret. Give me the hook back and we can forget this whole thing ever happened.” He says, reaching for the hook, but she climbs into his lap and holds it above his head, laughing out loud. Unfortunately for her, he was a solid foot taller than her and grabs it easily. He pulls her hand down and she wraps her hand around the small handle that lays in the inside of the hook._

_“Being a pirate suits yah well, love” he whispers and she grins wide._

_“Aye, I learned from the best” she jokes and kisses him. He wraps his arms around her waist, pulling her closer. She tangles her fingers through his hair, hook forgotten on the side of the bed. “What happened to thinking about it?” He asks against her lips and she shrugs. “There are other things I’d rather do than think right now” she whispers, her mind and stomach fluttering excessively. “Aye, I like that.” He growls and throws her over from his lap onto the bed._

_“Yeah, I can always think later. But for now, I made my bed, now I gotta lay in it” she says, bringing herself up to kiss him, but he pulls up. She pouts and tries to kiss him again. He pulls back again and she groans, wrapping her arms around his neck._

_“Patience, love. I was just wondering… you may have made your bed, but could I lay with you?” He asks and she smirks, trying to kiss him again and this time he lets her. “You’re always welcome in my bed, Hook”._

_End Flashback-_

Harry smiles slightly at the memory, then scowls when he see Gil is looking at him with a knowing smirk on his face. “Say anything and I’ll gut yeh like a bloody fish, yeh dobber” he mutters and Gil raises his hands in surrender, a knowing look still evident in his eyes.

“Are you coming to watch the TV or not? I don’t want to miss it” Gil changes the subject and Harry nods.

“Aye, of course, I ain’t no walloper”.

\- - -

When they get to the chip shop, they immediately see everyone crowded around the TV. “What’s on today?” Gil asks and Uma comes in from the kitchen.

“Same old trash as every other day. _Princess Mal of_ _Auradon._ ” She mocks, waving her hand at the TV, “Somebody shut her up” Uma complains.

“Ye shut up, Uma. Nobody’s making yeh watch it” Harry mutters, turning the TV up when Mal comes onto the screen. Uma was clearly taken back by Harry’s attitude, but his attention was no longer on her. It was on the former Isle girl on the screen.

He looks in disgust at her blond hair with purple tips, pulled into a nice, clean bun to the side, her shimmering white dress, and her perfect pink makeup. This wasn’t Mal. “That’s not Mal” he mutters under his breath, and Gil seemed to have heard him because Gil turns to him. “What do you mean, Harry?” Gil singsongs, giving him a teasing look and Harry raises his hook up threateningly, effectively shutting him up.

“Yeah, Harry, what do you mean?” Uma asks, catching on to their fight and Harry’s look in his eyes when Gil started talking.

“I’m just saying they fucking tamed her. She used to be badass, now she’s… well that” Harry mutters, not completely lying. He left out the part that if anybody would know who she truly was, he did. Nobody else could, but he could see all the fake smiles, the fidgeting of her hands every time a reporter asked something that ticked her off, every time she had to close her eyes tight when the frightening green threatened to show. He saw all of it. Auradon broke her and turned her into this shell of what they want her to be. They broke her.

The photo of _his_ girl, labels be damned, leaves the screen, then goes to a clip of King Beastly of Bore-adon. They started talking some shit about Lady of the Court and some cotillion and he couldn’t stand it anymore.

Every vein in his body coursing with anger, he stormed out of the chip shop. He knew Gil would be following him and he knew he would catch up with him eventually. But he had to get far enough to have a single second to himself. He slid into a dark alley hidden from the rest of the usual wanderers or crowds that roam the streets. He falls to the floor, leaning his head against the wall and running his fingers through his hair.

_That’s not Mal. That’s not Mal. That’s not Mal._

He had to repeat it over and over again until he calmed himself down. The last thing he needed to do was go on some anger spree and do something he’d later regret. He stands up and walks a hole into the alley floor as he paces back and forth relentlessly. _What has this girl done to me? She’s making me feel things now, goddamnit._

Just like he guessed, Gil found him a few minutes later. “Harry!” He exclaims, walking into the alleyway to see his best friend freaking out, “Hey, Harry, are you ok?” He asks, gripping onto the pirate’s shoulders.

Harry shakes his head, then slams his hook into the wooden wall, effectively pushing a hole through it. “They broke 'er! They… they fuckin' tamed a dragon. An' now she’s off skimpin' aroond wi' 'at bloody prince, obviously no’ enjoyin’ it all ‘at damn much! An' I can’t do a bloody ‘hing abit it” he yells quickly, pointing in the direction of the chip shop and TV, a wild look in his eyes and accent too thick where Gil can hardly understand what he’s saying.

“Dude, calm down. I have no idea what you’re saying” Gil says calmly, trying to calm his friend down. It freaked him out, he had never seen Harry like this before. Stressed and freaking out with _worry_ about another human being. It was definitely an overly rare sight. As in Loch Ness Monster meets Big Foot rare.

“Harry, you-you shouldn’t have left so soon. Something happened”.


	3. Chapter 3

It’s been 3 months since Mal had last seen Harry. 2 moths since she realized she couldn’t live without him. 1 months since she realized how much she missed the Isle, even with all it’s bad parts. 2 weeks since Ben found out about Harry. Not so much as found out about _Harry,_ but as much as he knew she didn’t love him.

_Flashback-_

_“You love someone on the Isle, that you had to leave behind?” Ben says in the form of a question even though he already knew the answer was yes._

_“Ben.. I don’t know what to say to you. I didn’t know how to tell you, now that I’m here and he’s still there” she tries to apologize, even though her heart was unknowingly slowly putting itself back together bit by bit knowing she was one step closer to Harry. Then it broke again, realizing her probably hated her now. She chose the good side and stayed together with Ben. She had promised she’d go back for him, then broke it._

_Ben must have seen the thoughts running through her head, because he nods and looks out the window of his office that faces the Isle. “Do you still love him?” He asks and Mal looks at him and sighs, looking at the Isle as well._

_“Love was… fickle, on the Isle. We didn’t really do relationships or love. On the Isle it was a disadvantage to have someone you cared about for the taking. So any relationships that ever really happened were either short hookups that no one spoke of again or hidden secrets behind closed doors” she says and he looks at her. “I assume yours was the latter?” He asks, surprisingly taking this very calmly._

_She nods, “Yeah, we were both on different sides of a war that we couldn’t stop. It had been going on even before we were born. But, the night before I left the Isle, yeah we said it. I think it meant more because of how restricting love was on the Isle. It felt special” she explains and she walks up to him, handing him the ring._

_“Ben, you have to know I truly am so sorry” she whispers as he curls his hand over the golden ring. He nods, “I know, Mal. I am too, I’ve unintentionally caused some troubles between the two of you now” he says and she shakes her head profusely. “No, you did nothing wrong, you have to know that. This is my fault, I should have told you. But nobody knows, not even Evie, Jay, and Carlos” she argues and he nods, apparently feeling better._

_“Friends?” He asks and she smiles through blurry eyes, “Yeah, friends”._

_End Flashback-_

That was two weeks ago. And they were doing really well with the friend thing, just no one knew they had broken up. Ben said he wanted to announce it over an interview so no rumors or false news would spread and so they could officially cancel Cotillion. She kept apologizing to him, and he kept telling her there was no reason to apologize. He even whispered to her one day in class that one of the reasons he was doing it on interview is so Harry would see it from the Isle. Of course, Ben didn’t know it was Harry Hook she was falling for, but she was even more grateful to him after that day.

After class, she went to her dorm room and changed into a pair of sweatpants and a tourney hoody she stole from Jay one day. She went out on her balcony and looked out at the sea. At the Isle.

Mal would be lying if she said she didn’t miss the Isle. She missed it every day. All the nooks and crannies they would find while exploring and make it their new spot until a new one was found by one of them, the secret hideouts she and Harry had to just be with each other, all the trouble or mischief they would all get into. She missed all of it. She remembered what she told Harry their last night together. _“I will always be a villain kid.”_ She had said _._ How different everything feels since that last night. Her hair is blond, which she _hated,_ but she didn’t tell anybody that. She wore dresses which she also found uncomfortable, her legs were always cold and she found it increasingly and repeatedly annoying when she would reach down and realize she had no pockets.

 _Where am I supposed to put my stuff then?_ She had thought to herself. She expressed this thought to Evie and she told her about wearing a purse. She inwardly gagged a little bit when she showed her a pink purse that would match her white dress. Evie seemed to see it, because she (thankfully) never mentioned purses again.

Mal stares out to the ocean, hoping that maybe Harry was staring at the same one. Which was ridiculous, she knew how Harry got when he was betrayed by someone he cared about. _And he loved you,_ a voice inside her head says and she scowls, suddenly annoyed with the ocean for the day.

A door opens and Evie’s voice calls her, then finds her on the balcony. “M, I always find you out here, what’s so intriguing about the ocean?” She asks, standing beside her. Mal shrugs, looking at Evie, wishing she could tell her everything, about Harry, and Ben, and how much she missed the Isle every day. She inwardly decided she would only tell her 1/3 of her problems.

“Me and Ben broke up” she says calmly, despite Evie freaking out at the words.

“What?!?” She explodes, turning Mal to her to see she was perfectly fine. “Why are you fine? When did this happen? Why did this happen?” She shoots her question after question and Mal has to resort to placing a hand over Evie’s mouth.

“One question at a time” she whispers and they go into their room to sit on Mal’s bed. “First question. When did it happen” she asks, looking at her friend worried.

“Evie, I’m fine. We broke up two weeks ago. He said he’s goin on air about it tonight at his interview” Mal reassures, even though her friend can see right through her and see she wasn’t fine. It was just for a completely different reason. “Next question, why did you break up? I thought you two were true love?” Evie asks her best friend and is met with hesitation.

“Evie… we just aren’t on the same level and agreed we are better as friends. And we are, I’ve never been happier with my relationship with Ben.” Mal says, her heart strings tugging slightly.

“Mal, I’ve known you your entire life. I know something else is going on” Evie says and Mal shakes her head.

“It’s nothing, E. I guess I’m just homesick” Mal says, not completely lying. She did miss her home. Her home she had always been welcome to in Harry Hook’s arms.

Evie looks at her skeptically, but nods and gives her one last hug before walking to her side of the room. “So, what about Cotillion?” She asks, riffling through her drawer for something.

“Yeah, that’s gonna get cancelled too. But Ben said instead he might do some big end of year extravaganza or whatever, so we got that going for us” Mal mocks, laughing, and Evie turns to her with a raised eyebrow and a smirk.

“Mal just because you don’t like balls and dances doesn’t mean other people don’t” Evie chides, pulling the remote out and turning on the TV, “So when is he going on then?” She asks, sitting next to Mal who fidgets uncontrollably. Her face drops slightly when she sees her fidgeting fingers and realizes why they haven’t been stopped yet. Harry was always their when she got extra fidgety or anxious. He would hold her hands in his and just sit with her. They wouldn’t say anything, they just sat there and she paid attention to his breathing, trying to copy that.

“M, you ok?” Evie asks and Mal quickly snaps out of her thoughts and turns to her.

“Yeah sorry, he should be going on right about now” Mal says and Evie holds her hand as Mal’s ex-boyfriend, the king of Auradon, came onto the screen.

\- - -

“What in hell are yeh yapping about, Gil?” Harry asks, looking up at him from his quick change of subject.

“I mean you shouldn’t have left. Uma thinks she was able to get it on recording. You… you have to come see this” he says and Harry scowls, but follows him back to the chip shop. When he goes back in, people start to run out. The people that don’t leave just stare at him with a weird look on their face.

“Everyone out! Now!” He yells, and if they weren’t already running, they were now.

Once he was sure everyone was gone, he goes up to the TV where Uma stands alone. “What is it everyone’s so bloody strung up on about this damn TV?” Harry asks, quickly picking back up his cool demeanor that he had dropped 20 feet in the alley. Gil didn’t seem to notice anything, but that was his brains talking.

Uma smirks and turns the dial on the TV, turning the volume up. On the screen, a frozen image of the king was stuck in place. “Why am I watchin’ this?” He complains as the video starts up and they are talking about the King’s girlfriend.

“Just watch, you’ll see” Uma snickers, watching the screen as well, wanting to watch this video over and over again.

The video plays and the reporters voice becomes clearer.

“So, King Ben, how are you and Princess Mal adjusting to life of being a king before the cotillion?” She asks, pulling on a fake cheery smile.

The King smiles and Harry chuckles. That smile was fake too. “Keep watching” Uma grins, hearing the pirate’s reaction.

“Actually, that was why I wanted to do this interview. We thought it best to do it straightforward here so no fake news or rumors could be spread about it” the king says and Harry unconsciously leans into the TV, already knowing what words were about to come out of Beastly’s mouth.

“Me and Mal have decided to split. So we will no longer be carrying on with Cotillion and she will be removed from her spot as a Lady of the Court” he says and they hear gasps from the background, but that’s nothing compared to Harry’s shock.

He laughs louder and slams his hook into the table. “Now THAT is some good news” he cheers and they all laugh, all for entirely different reasons.

Gil laughs, because there is now a chance everyone can just chill the fuck out, Uma laughs because _Princess Mal of Auradon, Lady of the Court_ just lost her shield. And Harry laughed. Well, Harry laughed just to laugh, because the cold hand that had held his heart ever since he saw the two’s relationship was finally gone. And he felt like he could breathe again.

\- - -

Evie holds on tight to Mal and Mal holds her arm tight. Evie was holding her in fear of her best friend falling apart at the headline on the screen once Ben’s interview was over. Mal was holding on tight because a weird feeling crept into her throat. Harry now knew. Harry knew that she and Ben were no longer together.

“Mal, honey, how are you doing?” Evie asks the silent girl and Mal nods slowly. “Yeah, I’m… I’m okay” she whispers. Evie nods, not questioning the look she saw in Mal’s eyes that was obvious she was not ok, and went to her own bed.

“Goodnight, Evie” Mal says, shutting off the light.

“Goodnight, Mal”.

Although neither of them got much sleep that night. Neither did Jay or Carlos, nor Uma or Gil, and especially not Harry. Not a single pirate nor Auradon Villain Kid slept that night. And all for entirely different reasons.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Don't be a silent reader :) 
> 
> I love getting comments on how you are liking it so far.

1 month later-

It’s been a month since Ben and Mal announced their break up. And it’s only gone downhill from there.

Evie tried to keep Mal out of her dorm, but even when she got her out and about, she always came to find her back in her room or out on their balcony not even an hour later. She was watching her best friend drift away and had no idea what to do.

One night, she woke up to Mal crying on the balcony. She didn’t dare move, in fear that if Mal heard her, she would quickly wipe away the tears and say what she always says, _“I’m fine”._ She listens to the girl cry and is tempted to stand and join her. Then she hears her say something that stops her in her tracks.

“I’m so sorry. I…- I want to come back, so badly. I miss you, even if you probably hate me, I do… I majorly fucked up, huh? I don’t feel like me anymore, yah know?” There was an empty silence and Evie didn’t realize she was holding her breath until Mal spoke again, a light teasing in her voice now “This is ridiculous. I’m literally talking to thin air. I wish everything could go back to how it was, where I could talk to you. But things change, sometimes I don’t think they’re for the better though” she whispers so quietly Evie barely hears her.

Mal whispers goodnight to the ocean and goes back to bed, leaving a puzzled Evie in her place. _Who in hell was she talking to?_

When she woke up the next morning, Mal was still asleep, curled up in a tight ball at the edge of her bed. Ever since about a month ago, Evie was always the one waking up after her. Mal was always an early riser, ready to start the day, and always gone when Evie woke up. She tried to ask her about where she went every morning when the Isle was still asleep. But she always just waved her off, saying she was going for a morning walk, or down to the beach.

Now, Evie was always the one waking up first. She tried to let the girl sleep, knowing she never truly did at night anymore, but when she hears the bell ring she knew she had to wake her.

She wanted to blame this on Ben, she truly did. This all started happening right after the news of their breakup spread like wildfire. But she took one look at Mal’s face every night, standing on the balcony, or Ben’s face every time he asked her worryingly how Mal was doing, she knew she couldn’t blame him. Something else was going on. And she had a hunch that Ben knew exactly what that was.

She goes to Mal’s bed and shakes her sleeping form. Nothing. “M!” She whispers, shaking her again. Still nothing. Starting to get worried, she shakes her harder and yells her name. Finally coming around, Mal’s eyes flutter open giving Evie a long sigh of relief. “Evie?” The girl asks drowsily, rubbing the sleep from her eyes. “Mal, don’t scare me like that!” She huffs, and pulls her by her hands out of the bed.

“I’m tired” Mal mutters, trying to fall back onto the bed but Evie catches her.

“None of that, now why don’t you go sit on the balcony while I get you some clothes” Evie whispers to her and Mal scowls.

“Ev, you don’t have to treat me like glass. I’m fine” she mutters and Evie nods, but pushes her to the open balcony anyway. She goes into the closet and picks out a simple purple blouse and black jeans. She knew Mal didn’t want a dress, even Ben should have known she wouldn’t have worn a dress if she had a choice. She grabs some purple tennis shoes and goes back into the room.

“M, your clothes are right here” she says and goes into her own closet to get her own clothes. After getting dressed, she goes out and sees Mal sitting on her bed, freshly changed from the sweatpants and hoody.

She starts to say something, but is interrupted by a knocking on the door. She goes quickly and peaks the door open slightly to see Jay. “Is she awake?” He asks her and she nods. He comes in the room and sees Mal sitting on her bed, fidgeting with her broken, pastel nails.

“Can I sit?” He asks her, patting on the mattress beside her and she looks up as if only just now noticing he was here. She probably did. She nods and Evie slips out of the room, letting Jay talk to her in silence.

“Mal, I know something is going on with you, bigger than Ben or any of us. And I’m not going to make you talk about it, but I’m here if you do, ok?” He reassures her and she smiles to him softly.

“Thanks Jay, I… I really appreciate it. I guess, I don’t know, I miss the Isle, is that weird? I miss the danger and the adrenaline. I miss being able to yell at people when they just get on my fucking nerves” she confides in him and she’s grateful when he doesn’t try to but in and say everything will be ok. Jay was better than that. He just nods and lets her continue if she wants to.

“I guess I sort of always missed it, no matter how awesome Auradon is, I’ll always be an Isle girl” she mutters and he gives her a look.

“And this has nothing to do at all with a certain Harry Hook?” He asks and she turns to him in shock, eyes wide, jaw dropped.

“Jay…How- I… Why-“ she stammers, but he stops her.

“Mal, you talk in your sleep. I heard you saying his name back on the Isle, connected the dots. And, I caught you two in your room like months before we left for Auradon. I was coming to get you because we were going down to the beach and caught you two asleep in each other’s arms.” Jay explains and Mal groans, laying back on the bed.

“Who else knows?” She asks him when he lays beside her.

“Only I do, everyone else is completely oblivious, but I am all knowing. And me, being all knowing, knows you two got it bad for each other” he teases and she throws a pillow into his face, making him laugh.

“You are so not funny” she mutters, grabbing her pillow back.

“You know I have to give you two props though. For being the toughest villain kids on the Isle, you two were adorable. All curled up together, his hands in your hair, your arms around his neck! I was practically gushing with cuteness” he mocks, tossing his hands around like a princess and flips his hair. She rolls her eyes, but rewards him with a smile.

“You don’t know how good that felt getting off my chest. Like I have been holding that in for almost a year!” He huffs and she smiles at him.

“Thank you. For not telling anyone” she says and he shrugs.

“Eh, I knew what your mom or Uma would have done to the both of you. And even if I hate him, he seems good enough for you, and I know that because you are _not_ easily physical! And you two were all wrapped into each other like cocoons and-!” He continues to tease her and she cuts him off by the throwing the pillow back on top of him. “Shut up!” She laughs and he smiles, raising his hands in surrender.

“Are you coming to breakfast?” He asks her as he stands up and she looks around her room before nodding to him. He smiles and heads for the door. He opens it and slips out, but before leaving the doorframe he brings his head back into the room and mouths the word, “Cocoons” and starts laughing, quickly shutting the door behind him as another pillow is thrown at the door, effectively shutting him up.

She stands from her bed and grabs her backpack, looking out the window and heads out, holding her head and down, pushing through the crowd just like everyday.

\- - -

Harry woke up to a killer hangover. He mumbles something even he can’t make out and looks around. He was in his bedroom. It hurt his head, trying to think about how he got here, or think at all, so he doesn’t try. _Mood._

He struggles to sit up and looks around. Why is he by himself? Then he remembers. _I got drunk then came home before knocking myself out on my bed._ He stares at the bed until it stops shaking and the room stops moving, then stands again, this time not falling and walks to the window. Watching the ocean always made it a little better when the hangovers were this bad. _Aye, but you had a good reason to drink, not just to wallow in your own pity,_ a voice in his head tells him and he shakes it away. That little bitch named his conscious couldn’t ruin his mood today.

 _You sure about that? Benny Boy and his little princess may be broken up, but who’s to say she still wants you? Will she even want to come back, after realizing how amazing Auradon is?_ The voice spits out and his headache disappeared, leaving his brain open for those thoughts that now ran rampant through his head.

_Well, shit. There goes that idea._

Harry grabs his hook and hat and goes to the door, running through the streets to the chip shop. People yelled and threw things at him along the way, but he just continued walking.

When he got to the shop, he settled into a chair and turned the TV knob sideways and it flickered on after a few goes. He watches the screen and sees Mal come onto the screen. He watches intensely, trying to find any hint of how she has been in the last week since he saw her picture on the TV a week ago.

He grimaced slightly when he saw her walking to class on the TV, with both Evie and Jay supporting her as if she was going to fall at any second. At the state she’s in, he wouldn’t be surprised. Her face was gaunt and pale, hair stuck in a lazy ponytail. She used to be slim and curved, but now she was just thin, as if she hadn’t eaten in forever. She looked like a ghost too tired of haunting to move another ghostly inch.

 _What have they done to you, love? Let me help you!_ He pleads in the back of his head, but keeps his emotions in check on the outside.

“Well, well, well, who’s calling who shrimpy now?” Uma says, noticing Mal’s demeanor and turns to Harry. “Here. I can’t stand another minute serving these dicks. Your turn” she mutters, slamming a tray into his chest and sits down to share a plate of curly fries and eggs with Gil. He mutters something he hopes Uma didn’t hear and goes to pick up empty plates.

\- - -

The four Vks are sitting in the library, all studying for their Mathematics test, but 3 of them kept glancing over at Mal who seemed to have space out and was staring, frustrated at a notebook.

Evie huddled them together, away from Mal (not that she’d notice), and looks at her once more. “Does anyone have a single clue how we can help her out of… whatever it is she’s got herself stuck in?” She asks and Carlos bites his lip, nervously. “I’ve never seen her like this before. She always seem so full of life. Now she’s like a flickering light bulb” he says and Jay nods.

“Yeah, and there’s only so much time before that lightbulb goes out for good” he mutters, watching as Mal’s fingers tighten around the page, causing it to wrinkle. “She told me she misses the Isle, but I think it’s more than that” Evie says and Jay suddenly is very interested in his gloves.

“Yeah, she told me the same thing” he mutters.

“But I heard her one night on the balcony and it was if she was talking to someone. She was saying how she missed them and how she screwed something up. Who could she have been talking about?” Evie asks. Carlos shrugs and Jay looks at Mal again. She was currently glaring at the notebook as if it had offended her. He scoots down to her, ignoring his friends protests, and taps her notebook. She doesn’t respond.

“Mal” he says calmly and she looks up, humming in response.

“Hey, you want to go get some food?” He asks and glances at their friends who were watching the encounter. She seems to catch on because she nods and they walk out of the room.

They go to the small cafe outside in the courtyard and and grab a table in the corner of the yard. “I want to go home, so badly” she groans and he nods, understandingly.

“I’ll make you a deal. You get through this week and try your best. If you still can’t stand it here, I’ll drive you there myself” he promises and she gives him a look.

“Jay, I can’t ask you to do that” she argues and he shakes his head.

“Mal, I don’t want to see you like this anymore. If being on the Isle gets you back to yourself, then it’s happening” he insisted and she nods gratefully.

She stands up and goes to give him a hug. “Thank you” she whispers to him and he nods before stopping her before she walks away.

“Yeah I wasn’t lying when I said we were going to get food. I’m starving and you are going to get something because I know you haven’t been eating” he says and she groans as he twists her back into a chair.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I have already written the next chapter, I am just proof-reading and editing.
> 
> If you have noticed, each chapter has sort of been either Mal or Harry's side of the story and slowly combining when they feel or get closer to each other. So, get ready for next chapter!! There are definitely some reunions in store.


	5. Chapter 5

Four days into the week have gone by. 3 more days until Jay’s deal runs dry. Despite telling him she would try her best, she couldn’t help but slip back into those habits a few days in. He came to her room that day to see her sitting out on the balcony again. Only Jay knew why she sat their everyday, looking out at an uneventful ocean. It made her think of _him,_ the good memories. The ones filled to the brim with their flirty banter, secret hook ups in an unoccupied market, his smile that made her feel a flutter in her stomach every time it was directed to her, and the less than subtle winks he would throw at her any chance he got when he couldn’t be by her side.

(Mal definitely knew her friends saw those, but they always assumed he was being a flirt as usual, so they ignored him like they always do, but when she was sure her friends weren’t looking, she threw him a smile and a quick blown kiss.)

When Jay came in, and saw her their, she could see the confusion in his eyes. She didn’t blame him. For 3 days, she had done well…. -ish. She was eating again, at most two meals a day, and was trying to participate more. Evie kept asking her what had changed, what had made her want to get up and fix everything so quickly? She didn’t know what to say, because she didn’t want to lie to her best friend and _sister,_ but she also didn’t want to explain everything else and Jay’s promise to her. So she just said she was feeling better and left for class.

Even if it was a complete lie, Evie didn’t have to know that. Mal knew if she tried to tell Evie about her plan to go back to the Isle, she would insist on coming too. And she can’t do that to her friend. She saw how in love she was with the idea of castles and Cotillion and all the perks that came with living in Auradon compared to the Isle. She didn’t want to keep her from that.

She didn’t want to keep Jay from that either. He thought just because she wasn’t in the right mind space that she was stupid. She knew he planned on staying with her when they got to the Isle. She knew Jay loved tourney and his team, and he had friends and a life here. He loved it here too. And he was willing to throw that all away for her. Because he loved her like a little sister. He didn’t want her to be on her own, so he was willing to risk his own happiness for hers.

She wasn’t going to let him do that. Not if she could help it.

Quickly, before she could change her mind, she grabs a pencil box and shoves 6 quick holes into it with a pencil. She goes to her mother and gathers her up in her arm. “Let’s blow this popsicle stand, huh mom?” She whispers, putting the lizard in the box and into her backpack. She grabs her bag and looks at the clothing rack by the closet. She was missing one more thing.

\- - -

Evie runs to Ben’s office, trying to decide on a way to tell him. She knew that Ben still loved her, even if they decided to just be friends. Which she was pretty sure she didn’t have the full story on. When she reaches his office, she lets out a heavy breath. _No one should run in platform heels. That should be against the law to even think about,_ she thinks to herself as she catches her breath.

She stands back up straight and knocks on the door. “Come in!” Ben’s voice calls through the door and Evie hurries in.

“Ben, we have a problem” she mutters, clenching the note tight in her hand.

“Ok. First, how is Mal doing? I wanted to check on her at lunch but she wasn’t there” he says, standing up to meet her in the middle.

Evie shakes her head and hands him the wrinkled note in her hand. “It’s _about_ Mal” she says and Ben looks in confusion at the note.

“But where is she?” He asks. HIs confusion was getting the best of him. _If she was in trouble why wasn’t Evie with her? Or why didn’t they bring her here? Is she is in trouble, why are we just sitting here?_ The questions run rampant in his mind and he can’t quiet them down.

“Ben… Mal went to back to the Isle” she whispers and sees his eyes widen in shock. He throws the note open and reads it twice over. “I had no idea she was that upset” he mutters and Evie nods.

“None of us did. We knew it was bad, but not… that bad.” She says and Ben shakes his hands out anxiously.

“I need to go get her!” Ben exclaims and Evie puts a hand on his chest to stop him from moving.

“Ben, you are not going to the Isle of the Lost by yourself. You’ll be mugged, hooked, or killed before you can say shit” she says and Ben frowns. _Hooked? Never mind, you can ask her later._ “Then come with me. She’ll listen to you” he says and she gives him a look. Evie bites her lip nervously, listing the pros and cons of going back to the Isle. But thinking of her best friend by herself on a place like the Isle ruled out any options. She was going.

She nods but doesn’t let him move yet. “You have to promise me two things before we leave” he nods and she nods as well.

“You have to promise I won’t get stuck there again” she says, seriously and he promises it to her easily. That makes her feel a little better, at least.

“Lastly, you are not going looking like that”.

\- - -

She really did it, she’s home. Parking her purple moped, Mal goes to the sign that opens her and her friends main hang out. This was where they did everything. And they did it all together. Look at where they are now.

She throws a medium sized rock at the sign and sure enough, the gate pulls up to reveal a metal staircase. She smiles for the first time in weeks and goes up the stairs. At the top of the stairs, cluttered by the door, are about 8 empty spray paint cans. She picks one up and shakes it. There was still a small amount left. _Good enough until I can get more._

She goes inside and her eyes brighten with joy. Everything was still exactly how they had left it. The walls were covered head to toe in spray paint portraits and art she and her friends had done when they were bored. The painted furniture around the rooms were dusty, but that was fixable. She goes into her room and refuses to look at the bed. Not yet. Not when all she will see is painful memories. She wished she could stay here forever. But she knew she couldn’t. Not with how she looked now. She needed to get that fixed quickly.

Climbing down the escape ladder on the small window balcony, she jumps to the ground and hides in the shadows to avoid being seen. Until she was fixed up she couldn’t be seen by anyone. Traveling through shadows and uneven passageways, she reaches Lady Tremaine’s Curl Up and Dye. _Open At 12:00 AM,_ the sign says on the door. She opens the door anyway. Dizzy knows her, she’ll let her in, easy peasy.

Peaking through the door, she sees the young grandchild of Lady Tremaine, dancing around the store sweeping the floor. Mal smirks and knocks loudly on the door side to let her know she was here. Dizzy turns in shock then when she sees it is Mal, she squeals in happiness, running towards her.

“Is Evie with you?” She asks her immediately and Mal frowns slightly. _Nice to see you too._ “As if” she scoffs and Dizzy’s smile dims to a content look on her face.

“I was wondering if you could fix me up?” Mal asks her, trying to distract the girl before her from her best friend in Auradon.

It works better than thought because Dizzy brightens quickly. “Seriously? Of course I will! I haven’t had a decent customer in ages!” She giggles and sets her in a rugged barbers chair. She picks at her hair here and there and makes slight comments on it and then turns to her, “How far can I go?” She asks her and Mal turns to the girl. “The works. You know, makes me feel like _me,_ but you know, the works” she says and Dizzy smiles, already getting to work.

\- - -

She sits patiently and lets Dizzy do her magic. When she’s done, she stands and looks in the largest sized piece in the broken mirror sitting before her. Tears threaten to well in her eyes when she sees herself. Whats she saw was herself. Who she _wanted_ to be. She forces the tears away and turns to Dizzy. “You did amazing, Dizzy. Per usual” she says and Dizzy smiles toothily to her. Mal reaches into her back pocket and pulls out a 20. “For me?” Dizzy asks excitedly. “Absolutely, you deserve it” she says and Dizzy rushes off to put it in the register.

Mal gathers her stuff back up and puts it all back in her back. She stands and hears a voice that makes her skin chill. _His voice._ She wanted to disappear. A sharp pain in her forehead shows up and she winces. Trying to distract herself from the sudden pain, she turns and sees him. Standing in his long flowing red coat, his hook hanging expectedly towards Dizzy as she rummages around for the money in the cashier, his pirate hat sitting perched perfectly on top of his messy brown hair. Everything she saw made her nostalgic for easier times. Times when she could run up to him without a thought and he would catch her without a thought.

“Still running errands for Uma, or do you actually get to keep what you steal?” She decides to say and can practically feel the shock coming from Harry’s form when he hears her. He turns, a smirk plastered loudly on his face. “Well, well, well. What a nice surprise” he says and Mal tries to ignore the tingly feeling that comes with the way his accent rolls off his tongue so easily.

“Hi, Harry”.

He steps closer to her, and runs his hook through her hair gently. He was always gently with her. No matter how mad or pissed he was, never once would he harm her. “What are yeh doing back?” He asks her seriously. “I couldn’t be there anymore. Auradon didn’t really fit into my mold” she says and he smirks.

“So yeh ran?” He asks and she scowls.

“I missed the Isle. Is that what you want to hear?” She asks and he shakes his head quickly. “No, my wee dragon. I think yeh know exactly what I want to hear.” He breathes into her ear and she shudders, “I heard you and Prince Beastly broke up. Shame, really”.

She rolls her eyes and pushes him away from her. “You want to stop being such a fucking tease? Fine, I missed you too, happy?” She shoots at him and for a second she could see a glimmer of what he used to be in his eyes. Then just as soon as it appeared, it was gone.

“No. I haven’t been happy since I saw yeh engaged to Princely in Bore-adon. Yeh broke yer promise” he tells her and she looks him in the eye.

“I’m sorry. I hope you believe me with that” she says, trying to end the conversation as her headache was getting more and more painful quickly. He seems to notice because his eyebrows furrow together in confusion. “What’s wrong with yeh?” He asks, his eyes trailing her body for any sign of something wrong.

“Nothing, just a bad headache. I know you have no reason to, but believe me when I say I do miss you. Every day” she says and quickly leaves when both the emotional pain and physical becomes too much to bear. She knows his eyes will be following her when she leaves, but for once, she hopes he doesn’t follow her.

Barely making it to her hideout, she slams the lock shut and falls onto her bed. Her entire body shakes and chills run through her form. _What is going on with me?_ Trying to feel any relief from this overwhelming pain, she pulls her long sleeve jacket and shirt off, leaving her with her bra. She scratches at her arms until blood flushes them bright red. The pain is everywhere until there is nothing at all and she falls into what she hopes is sleep.

\- - -

Harry slams out of the shop, feeling the child hairdresser watching him leave. That was the least of his cares now. Mal was here. _Here._ She’s back on the Isle and he just talked to her. _And she misses you, you dumbass. Go back to her,_ a voice tries to reason with him but he quickly shuts it off. That was the last thing he needed to hear right how. Not paying attention to his direction, he feels a body collide with his own. Turning to whoever was stupid enough to run into him, he turns and sees Gil. “What the hell, mate?” He groans and Gil wipes off the dust on his shirt. “Sorry Harry, I was trying to hurry. You won’t believe who I just saw. Mal is back on the Isle, I need to get to Uma and tell her” he says and tries to continue walking. Harry holds out his arm and stops him. “I know, I saw her”.

“Oh, sorry dude. I didn’t even think about that. What happened? Did you two... you know?” He asks him, stopping in his tracks.

“It doesn’t matter now. If she is here, we can almost guarantee that princely will be here as well.” He says, eyes raised wide. He watches the gears turn in Gil’s head and finally sees it click. “Oh!” He exclaims and Harry nods mockingly.

“Come on, ya dobber” he mutters and drags him back to the chip shop.

\- - -

They run into the shop and Uma looks them over with surprise. Harry hopes she doesn’t see through his thin facade that he tried so hard to hold up. “Uma, we have good news”.


	6. Chapter 6

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know it's been a while, and I am sorry. 
> 
> My train of thought is like the titanic and writers block is like the iceberg that sunk it. 
> 
> My writers block is killing me, so I apologize on it's behalf.

When Mal wakes up, she hears a loud banging on the steps. _Someone’s coming up!_ She thinks and searches the floor for her shirt. Finding it under a spare jacket, she throws it on and winces. Confused, she searches for wounds, then sees the scratches on her arms. _Why don’t I know where these came from? I… I should know where these are from._ She racks her brain for anything that could have happened, but her mind comes up blank. The last thing she remember from the night before was leaving Dizzy’s shop and getting a headache. _Harry._ That’s right, she saw Harry. She winces again, but not from the headache, but from the memory.

Why hadn’t she stayed with him? She tries to remember again and the headache she felt when she woke up returned. She rubs her temple and hears the door open. Right, someone was coming up. She leaves the room right when Ben walks in. She jumps a little when she sees him. He was wearing regular Isle clothing. _That means Evie is here too._ “Ben, what are you doing here” she whispers and he sees her standing there. She can see his eyes flickering up at her hair in shock.

“I know you said not to follow you, but I had to get you. You can’t stay here. Not in your state” he says and she frowns. _My state?_

“My state? Ben, I was like that because I missed the Isle. I missed home, so I came back. I’m better here” she says and he eyes the scratches along her arms.

“What are those from?” He asks her and she shakes her head. “Just got cold in my sleep, I guess. I don’t really know” she says and he gives her a less subtle look before looking around the room. “Did you find him?” He asks her and she winces again. A chill runs through her spine and she shivers.

“Yeah, I did. He’s… not very happy with me right now” she says and he nods understandably. “Mal, come back to Auradon. I brought the limo, it’s a sweet ride” he smiles slightly and she sighs, looking at her surroundings. The spray paint covering every corner of the walls, the dusty furniture, all of this was what made her… _her._

“I can’t Ben, I’m sorry. Please go” she whispers and desperation takes over in his eyes.

“Mal…” he pleads and she shakes her head, “Ben, please go!” She insists and he gives her one final look before leaving the room and she doesn’t relax until he hears the loud clunking of steps. He would be safe on Auradon. Evie would make sure of it. She grabs her jacket and throws it over her body, trying to ignore the pain that comes with it. She didn’t know why, but she was freezing. More then she usually was on the Isle.

“Mal, are you there?” Evie’s voice calls through the room. Mal turns, half expecting her to be in the room, but sees the sound coming through a pipe they used for communication. She groans loudly and walks over to it.

“M, we just want to talk” she says and Mal pulls down the lever to talk.

“Go away!” She yells and pulls the lever again, signaling to Evie the conversation was over.

\- - -

After sharing the “good” news with Uma, Harry retreated the chip shop quickly and went in search of the purple haired girl. He didn’t know why he still wanted to see her, but something was always pulling him to her. And something was definitely wrong with her last night. She said she had just had a headache, but something else was there. A weird kind of energy was radiating off of her.

After his father had the misfortune of messing with some pretty powerful fairies, the fairies cursed all pirates with being able to sense dark magic. They quickly learned how bad of a punishment it was, as they now had an advantage, but they never told the fairies that, obviously. And the energy radiating off of Mal was… dangerous. And Harry had been with Mal long enough to know what her magic felt like and what he felt in the hair shop, that wasn’t it.

He turns a sharp corner and for the second time that day someone bumps into him. _Bloody hell, does no one respect him anymore?_ He looks to who hit him and a wicked grin spreads across his face.

“Why hello there, Princely” he says and Ben’s eyes widen in fear at the sight of the hook on Harry’s hand. _Well, that hooked part makes a bit more sense now,_ Ben thinks before he is knocked out with it.

Harry looks on in disgust as Ben’s form crumples to the dirty floor and scoffs. “Only one hit? That’s how weak yeh are? One bloody hit?” He mutters and mumbles unwelcomely when he realizes he will have to drag the prince back to the chip shop. Trying to avoid the situation, he looks around and whistles at some lowlife pirates who quickly scurry over to him. _At least some people still fear him._

He gets them to take Ben to the chip shop and follows where he had been walking from. Wherever Ben was, the rest of the Vks would be. And where Mal would be. He tried not to the think of the girl, but his mind betrayed him. She was here, on the Isle. She was right there in front of him. Why hadn’t he done anything? _Because she betrayed me. She went and screwed beastly,_ he thinks to himself and pushes a group of kids around his age out of his way.

“Excuse me!” A girl rudely calls from the group. He turns, eyebrows raised. “Can I help yeh?” He asks, moving out of the shadows. Aah, it was the very Vks he was just thinking of.

“Hello, Evelyn” he says smoothly and she glares at him. “Hook, where is Ben?” She says through gritted teeth and his eyes widen in mock shock. “Oh, uh, we nicked him!” He laughs and Jay gets up close to him. “If you hurt him…” he threatens and Harry laughs wickedly. “Aye? How’s the lovely Princess of Bore-adon doing up in her tower?” He asks quietly and Jay glares at him.

“What did you do, Harry?” Evie asks and for a second Harry is surprised at Evie’s calm tone. He turns to Jay and smirks. Jay knew, that was obvious. The way he was looking at Harry was all the confirmation he needed. Harry points his hook onto Jay’s chest and pushes down slightly. “Ask Jay, he probably knows more than I do. But you should be asking, what did she do?” He winks to Evie and then nods, as if getting back on track.

“Right, well Uma wants Mal at the chip shop, 12, on. The. Dot.” He smirks deviously, poking Jay’s chest with each word. He retreats quickly into the shadows before they can find some way to argue or negotiate. Not that it would work, but he always enjoyed entertaining desperation that he would later squash.

He knows the group of villain kids behind him will now go back to their not so secret hideout and talk to Mal. Which kind of pisses him off because he needed to talk to her about whatever energy that was that she had. That was an inhumane type of magic. He’s only heard of that feeling once and he is worried about what it may mean for her.

He heads to his ship and tries not to think about how the one person he cares for most is currently trying to save her ex-boyfriend.

\- - -

Mal and Evie were in Dizzy’s shop making smoke bombs. “So, Mal. What was all of that yesterday with Harry? You two seemed… close” Dizzy asks her when Evie isn’t in ear shot and Mal gives her a look. “Trust me, nothing is happening there” she mutters and Dizzy smirks. “That’s not what I asked” she smirks and runs off to Evie’s side before Mal can say anything. Mal rolls her eyes and continues to make smoke bombs. _Children…_

They pack up all the smoke bombs and the chills from before come up again. She shivers involuntarily and scratches at her arm. “M, you good?” Evie asks her and she looks up. “Yeah, just been feeling off lately” she mutters and Evie gives her a concerned look before turning to Dizzy. “I wish I could bring you back with me!” She tells the girl, and Dizzy nods understandingly.

They go to leave, and Dizzy bites her lip. It’s now or never. She knows it technically not her information to share, but she feels as if this is something Evie should know. “Evie, wait up!” She split second shouts and Evie turns to her. “I need to tell you something” she mutters to her and pulls her to the side so Mal can’t hear.

“There is something you need to know. Yesterday, Mal came to get her hair done and then, well Harry showed up. At first, I thought they were just like doing their usual enemy flirting thing they did. You know, where they pretend to not be repulsed by each other for like 5 minutes? But, something weird happened. Mal and Harry were talking about like relationship stuff. Harry was saying how like she broke a promise and Mal was talking about missing him” Dizzy says in a hurry, positive Mal would be coming back to check on Evie soon. Evie’s eyes grow wide and starts to say something.

“That’s not all” Dizzy interrupts and Evie gestures for her to continue. “Anyways, they ended the conversation like that, Mal said she missed him, every day. Then she left quickly, I don’t think they knew I heard. But, I decided to snoop a bit and followed Harry. He ran into Gil and Gil said something kind of… provocative” Dizzy says and Evie raises an eyebrow.

“Dizzy, I know you really don’t want to betray their trust. And I love you so much for it. But I need you to tell me what Gil said” Evie whispers to her and Dizzy nods.

“Well, word for word I think he said, ‘What happened? Did you two… you know?’ And then Harry dragged him away to tell Uma” she says and Evie nods, looking ready to punch a wall. “Dizzy, thank you for telling me this. Did they say anything at all about like how long they had been… together?” She asks and Dizzy shakes her head.

Evie gives her a quick hug. “Thank you” she whispers and lays a soft kiss on her forehead before running after Mal. _She’s gonna get it,_ Dizzy thinks, imagining how that confrontation was going to go. Not well, to say the least.

\- - -

Ever since Evie left Dizzy’s shop, she’d been acting weird. She kept giving Mal looks and recoiled at her touch. As they head for Uma’s boat, she turns to Evie. “E, are you ok? You’ve been acting off” she asks her and Evie turns to her, an unrecognizable look in her eyes. “Oh, I’ve been acting off? I’m so sorry, Mal. That must be an inconvenience to you. After all, I’m sure your schedule is filled to the brim with lying” she huffs and Mal blinks in shock. She had never heard Evie be passive aggressive. She would be proud if it wasn’t directed at her. In that case, she was confused and kind of pissed.

“What are you talking about?” She says and Evie scoffs. “We’ll talk about it later. Right now our priorities are elsewhere” she says and Mal nods hesitantly. Evie was mad at her, that was definitely a new development. No… she couldn’t know, could she? She glanced over at her best friend, and suddenly she wasn’t so sure.

They run down the board walk and the first thing Mal sees is Harry holding Ben over the plank. He met eyes with her and she could see the hurt that she came for him instead of saving herself. It pissed her off more then it should, because did he just expect her to let Ben die? She tries to wordlessly tell him this and he seems to understand. He looks away from her and if she thought she was hurt before, seeing the way he has to force his eyes away from her to focus made it 10 times worse.

“Look who decided to show up! I assume you have my wand?” Uma laughs and Mal rolls her eyes.

“Calm yourself, shrimpy. Give me Ben and you’ll get your wand” she taunts and can see the anger clear in Uma’s eyes. _Good, she deserves to feel all the pain she felt._

She glances over at Harry again and he was frowning at the wand in her hands. He looked up at her and raised an eyebrow in amusement. She glared at him, a silent warning for him to keep his mouth shut. _Shit, now Harry knew._ It wasn’t that surprising. Harry probably knew her better then anyone here, he would know if she was lying better then anyone else.

“I will throw your precious prince overboard! Give me the wand Mal! Or I swear, I will come over there, kill you myself, then take it from you!” She shouts through gritted teeth. Mal raises an eyebrow.

“No need to be a drama queen, shrimpy” Mal chides and Uma groans, pulling a sword from her belt.

“Don’t mess with me, Mal. This is not the day” she mutters and Mal shrugs. “Seems like the perfect day for me. What, the weather not right for you? Not enough breeze? Maybe you belong in Auradon more than I do.” She laughs harshly and Uma runs up to her and holds the knife to the tip of Mal’s chin.

“I would watch your words, princess. Well… ex-princess” she growls and Mal rolls her eyes.

“Uma, we all know your bark is much worse than you bite” Mal sneers and Uma raises an eyebrow. “Yeah, let’s find out” she snarls and before Mal can comprehend anything, Uma pulled the sword from her neck and swiped at her. Mal dodges it easily and smirks at Uma. “Ooh, rusty shrimpy?” She laughs and Uma groans audibly.

Meanwhile, Harry was holding Ben by the collar, watching the both verbal and physical fight go down in amazement. Even at sword point, Mal was able to keep her calm posture and mess with Uma even more. Harry lays his chin on Ben’s shoulder tauntingly and points his hook to Mal. “See, isn’t she just amazing!” He says and Ben rolls his eyes at Harry’s behavior.

“I mean, I could just watch her work her bad girl magic all day” he says and Ben gives him a quizzing look. “Yeh didn’t seriously think I never knew Mal, did yeh? The Isle is smaller than Auradon, Beast” he smirks and watches the realization on Ben’s face form.

He grins wickedly and nods. “Oh, yeah. That dragon chick is mine, at least she will be as soon as we figure out this tiny little rivalry issue. So don’t tell Uma, will yeh?” He continues talking even though Ben was frozen in surprise, looking between him and Mal.

“You’re him. The guy Mal was talking about. You’re the reason she’s always sitting out on that fucking balcony” he manages to get out. Harry blinks in shock. He did _not_ know that.

“Well, I’m flattered she was talking about me. But I would be a wee bit concerned if she was talking about somebody else, now wouldn’t I?” He snickers and Ben tries to repress the rolling his eyes so badly wanted to do. _This_ was the guy Mal fell in love with? Harry seems to read his thoughts and frowns.

“Harsh, Ben. Although, I can’t judge. I still think that same bloody thing every day” he mutters and looks at Mal again. The fight had dispersed from just Uma and Mal to a full on sword fight. Shit, Mal gave her the fake wand.

“Ok, first step on understanding a pirate. Do as I say, not as I do” Harry mutters and before Ben can question anything he just said, he cuts the ropes with his hook and pushes Ben off the plank far enough to wear he can grasp the dock with his hands. He hears a gasp come from the opposing side when he throws Ben, and he doesn’t try to hear who it came from.

He turns to look at Mal and wished his stomach didn’t turn into knots when she smiled at him. He just nodded slightly and ran off the plank. For all Uma would know is that he got impatient and decided to throw him off but threw him too far.

“Really, Harry?” She groans and he grabs a sword from a barrel, crossing the dock.

Fighting through goons, he somehow finds his way into fight with the one and only Evie. “So I hear you’re fucking my best friend” she mutters through gritted teeth as he tries to throw the sword out of her hand. He will admit, she almost got him with that. “So I see she told you” he says and she just shakes her head, but gives him a look that said she would kill him if he screwed it up.

The next person he runs into is Jay. “Hello there, Jay” he smirks and Jay rolls his eyes, throwing his sword towards him.

“I’m going easy on you, because I know Mal loves you. Not because I care about you” he says and Harry grins deviously. “Whatever you say, Jay”.

“If you hurt her, I will kill you” Jay says as he disappears. He watches him disappear and frowns. Why does everyone think he’ll hurt her? She’s the one who hurt him first!

When he sees smoke bombs, he knows its time to go. He tries to find Mal, but doesn’t see her anywhere. Panic takes over his thoughts. Did Uma get to her? He smirks slightly though, when he hears a familiar voice calling his name, “Hook!”. He turns to the voice and sees Mal looking at him by the huge pipe exit. He nods and tries to make his way to her. Seeing Gil, he grabs him by the arm and drags him along. He jumps up onto the bridge above and stands next to her, Gil stumbling behind him.

“Hey there, love” he says and she rolls her eyes, but he sees a small smile on her face when she turned away.

“We need to leave now” Mal says and run through the pipe as Uma advances on the group. “Wait, I’ll meet you there” she says and runs back. Ignoring what she had asked of them, she waits in the middle of the pipe and watches as she pushes the bridge away from the pipe. No going back now. He also watches her hold her fingers to her temple, squeezing her eyes tight as she walks back.

“What are you doing? I told you to go ahead!” She says when she sees him. “Was I ever one to follow the rules?” He asks and she gives him a look before walking ahead and getting into the limo.

“Are they coming?” Jay asks, pointing to Harry and Gil. Harry looks to Mal expectingly. Mal looks at him and finally nods. “Yeah, there coming, They're with me” she says and he didn’t realize he was holding his breath until she said that. He smirks to the group, but sits in a seat far away from Mal. Everyone that knew their little secret noticed. Which was pretty much everyone but Carlos. Poor Carlos, he was pretty clueless. Evie was sitting beside Mal with an arm wrapped around her shoulder. They were talking in hushed whispers and Harry could tell Mal was having another headache.

Girls were fucking confusing. Wasn’t Evie just pissed at Mal? And now they’re two peas in a fucking pod again? They need to figure that shit out quickly.

The drive to Auradon was silent and awkward. Which wasn’t really surprising, they were in the middle of some kind of high school cliche TV drama. Mulan’s daughter looks around at all of them strangely and Harry can’t blame her. He would be looking at most of them strangely as well. Harry risks another look at Mal and feels that same aura of dark energy again. He had to ask her about that as well. But first stop, Auradon.


	7. Chapter 7

When they arrive in Auradon, Evie helps Mal get out of the car. They had been whispering secretively the entire ride there and when they had passed the border, Mal seemed to need to rely on Evie more.

“Something is going on. I don’t think this is just a migraine” she mutters to her when they park the limo and Evie nods in agreement, letting go of her grudge against her best friend for the moment. “We’ll have Fairy Godmother check you out when we get to the school” she promises.

Mal was trying to think back to when something could have happened to her. The first time she had felt this chill running through her body was right before she had left for the isle. She had been grabbing her spell book and, what she had assumed was a gust of wind, swooped into the room and it felt like it went _through_ her body. The next time she felt it was with Harry.

They get out of the car and Evie helps her up as she staggers slightly. “I think we need to see her sooner than we thought” Evie whispers and Mal shakes her head. “No, I’ll be fine for a little while” she promises and Evie nods reluctantly.

They walk to the dorms and Mal tries her best to ignore the pirate walking only a few feet away from her. She knew Evie wanted to talk to her about something, and it wasn’t very hard to assume what. “I have a meeting in like 15 minutes. I’ll see you guys later, Mal I’ll talk to as soon as I can” Ben promises, already being pulled away by Jane and Mal just gives him a simple wave.

“We need to talk” Evie whispers and Mal nods. Evie turns Mal and sits her on the ground, “Jay! Carlos! Sit” Evie tells them and they sit without argument. They knew that tone of voice, and when it so rarely comes from Evie, you listen.

“So, I wanted to talk about something I learned, and I figured it fair that everyone hears about it” Evie says and turns to see Harry and Gil trying to sneak away.

“You two stay as well. You two have as much to do with it as we do” she says and Harry groans, but hangs back.

“So, I’m not only offended you wouldn’t tell me first, but it hurt my feelings to know I had to find out you were fucking Harry Hook behind all of our backs from _Dizzy!_ She knew before I, your best friend, did.” Evie rants and Mal’s eyes go wide.

“Evie…” she starts but Evie shakes her head.

“Did you not think I could be trusted with something like that? And then I learned that Gil, and Jay, and _Ben_ knew! Was I just supposed to be oblivious on the entire thing?” She asks, genuinely distressed by the situation and Mal shakes her head.

“No, Evie! I wanted to tell you, so badly! But I couldn’t. I didn’t even know Jay knew until recently. And Ben didn’t even know it was him. Besides, it’s… over now” Mal tried to explain to her but Evie still looked hurt. It was a lucky that nobody was paying attention to the pirate behind them, because he was hurt by her words too.

“Did you think I couldn’t be trusted? That I couldn’t keep a secret?” Evie asks quietly, tears forming in her eyes. Mal rushed forward, and held Evie’s hands tight in her own.

“No! Evie, I couldn’t tell anyone because we were on separate sides of a turf war. It was safer for everyone that way” she tells her and can see Evie was starting to believe her.

“Just… know that you can trust me with stuff like that, M. You know I wouldn’t tell anyone” Evie pleads and Mal nods without hesitation. Evie smiles through tears and nods.

“Ok, now we need to get you checked on by Fairy Godmother” she says, pulling her with her, and leaving the boys to follow.

“Is no one going to talk about how I had no idea they were a thing either?” Carlos whispers to Jay and Jay smirks. “Sorry, bro. But you know now” he teases and Carlos rolls his eyes. No shit, Sherlock.

Harry however, was not focused on anything but Evie’s previous words. He knew _something_ was going on with Mal, but was it that bad? “Aye, so sorry to interrupt this little bonding moment. But, why exactly are yeh going to Fairy Godmother?” He asks, walking up to the gal pals up ahead. They turns to him and Harry sees a warning look in Mal’s eyes. He was confused but then understood when he saw Evie looking at him with hatred.

“Nothing much, just I’m having a lot of headaches and trouble remembering things. It’s not that bad” Mal summarized for him, realizing that Evie wasn’t going to answer him. He raises an eyebrow, “Aye, so no sudden chills, no loss of breath, choking?” He asks her, fearful for what he thought could be happening to her. He _knew_ that he had felt that sort of magic in the hair shop before. Mal narrows her eyes at him and steps out of Evie’s grasp.

“Harry, what do you know?” She asks him and he sucks in a harsh breath. _Are you fucking kidding?_

“I know what’s wrong with yeh, love. Tragrithaan has yeh” he sighs and Mal frowns, clearly confused.

“What’s a Tragrithaan?” She asks and he shakes his head. He feels Gil come to his side, and place a hand on his shoulder.

“Are you sure it’s him?” He asks cautiously and Harry looks Mal up and down, then remembers that sense of dark magic. So he closes his eyes tight and nods. “Yeah” he whispers back.

“ _Who is Tragrithaan?_ ” Evie persists and Harry and Gil turn to the four VKs.

“He’s a demon that sucks the souls out of bodies. He was like the lesser known bane of Hades. The two hated one another. Tragrithaan _was_ torturing people way down in Hell, but he must have gotten out. But he would only go after someone close to Hades” Gil informs and Mal meets Harry’s eyes. He nods slightly and she sighs.

“Is there any way to get rid of it?” Jay asks nervously, glancing down at Mal, who seemed to be getting dizzy. “Not that we know of, our parents never really talked about him. We only know about him from stuff told around fires and after drinks. Never seriously” Harry says and connects eye contact with Mal again. The way she was looking at him, _like she needed him,_ made his gut twist in circles. Because that look was all too familiar.

“Ok, we should get her inside, still. Fairy Godmother may know more about this than we currently” Carlos says and Mal stutters an argument, holding onto Evie’s arm again for balance.

“No, if something like… is it possessing me?” They turn to Harry and he sighs. “I don’t know if yeh would call it possession, love. It’s more like… body killing ’n then just not using the body.” Harry tries to explain and they all show visible confusion.

“Ok, whatever that means… If that is happening to me, I don’t want to be stuck in experiments and tests for however long I have left. I want to spend it doing whatever else I can” Mal says and Evie nods, “Mal’s right. She shouldn’t have to be stuck attached to test tubes. Although we are going to get that fucking demon out of you before it can even touch a hair on your head” Evie promises. Mal shakes her head and laughs in slight deranged way that was unlike her.

“Little to late for that, E. He already has me. That _thing,_ I can already feel it” she mutters and Evie glares in Harry’s direction. He furrows his eyebrows in disbelief. _How is any of this my fault?,_ he thinks under her stare.

“Ok, let’s get you to our room. Away from prying eyes” Jay says and they nod.

Evie turns sharply to Harry and Gil. “You aren’t coming” she hisses and Harry laughs mockingly. “Ah think bloody weel that i’m comin’” he argues and when Evie starts to argue, Mal places a hand on her shoulder and gives Harry an almost soft look.

“Evie, he’s coming” he barely hears her whisper. He would have thought he was imagining it if he didn’t see a flare of anger from Evie then a defeated nod. Harry smirks smugly and pulls Gil along with them.

\- - -

When they get to Mal and Evie’s room, the first thing Mal does is sit on her bed, the chills coming back. The first thing Evie, Jay, and Carlos do is close all the blinds. And the first thing Harry does is sit next to Mal. He doesn’t care if she hates him now, he doesn’t care if Evie throws a hissy fit for him being there, he sat right next to her.

“I can do this. I can keep it out until we find a cure.” Mal insists in whisper to him and he nods without hesitation. “I know yeh can, love. Yeh can do this” he reassures her and she sighs, seemingly grateful he believes her.

“What if there’s no cure? What if I just… _die_?” She whispers and he shakes his head.

“No, not happening. I will go to Hades myself if I have teh, and choke the answer out of him” he promises and she rolls her eyes at his statement. “He’d kill you before you could even get to the door”.

He scoffs dramatically and gives her a taunting look. “Harsh, love. Yeh just blew my ego down 12 feet” he mutters and she actually lets out a small laugh. “Eh, you could use it, Hook”.

And just like that, they both felt it again. The flame that had once been there, that had truthfully never left them. They had felt it again, in that moment and they both smiled a little at the feeling. Even in the midst of something that could kill one of them, they smiled.

“I’m not dying” she insists and he nods with her words, although not truly believing them. “No, you’re not” he says.

“Promise you’ll stay?” She asks, her voice taking a broken tone. He turns to look at her from where they sit, side by side, and they meet eyes. He could see that she genuinely needed to know that he wasn’t going anywhere. He nods, clasping his hand over hers. “I’m not going anywhere, love. Swear on it”.

She nods, her form finally relaxing, and lays her head on his shoulder. “Why are you helping me?” She murmurs and he shrugs. “Because nobody deserves to die like this” he mutters and looks at her when she lifts her head up to look at him.

“Even someone like me? After what I’ve done…”. He shakes his head, cutting her off. “Especially someone like you” he promises and she nods, laying her head back down.

He doesn’t recall doing it, but when he feels it, he doesn’t stop. His thumb was now running soothing lines up and down Mal’s knuckles. She wasn’t stopping him, and he didn’t want to stop.

Harry knew he was supposed to hate her. She betrayed the Isle and abandoned him there for Princely. But feeling her so close to him, her hand attached to his own, he couldn’t feel anything close to hatred to the purple haired girl beside him. And he hated himself for that.

Mal knew her friends wanted Mal to hate him, after all they sure did. It was the very reason this whole thing was a secret to begin with. She knew she was supposed to hate him. He was on Uma’s side and she was on her own. There entire thing was a ticking time bomb waiting to eventually explode and take everything out with them.

But when she felt how warm he was when she laid her head on his shoulder, or when his hand, rough from working on the docks and fights, ran almost impossibly soft on her own, it made her want to forget it all and stay in this moment everyday.

She knew she was going to forget this soon, one of the symptoms of being body snatched by Tragrithaan, which made her want to hold onto it even tighter. She knew she would eventually forget everything, but at this moment, she forgot that and sat in this moment.

Mal didn’t care for her friends who were now, no doubt, watching the exchange. Harry didn’t care for the glare he could feel Evie burning into his skull from behind. Neither of them cared at the moment.

They didn’t care for anything but the touch of the other.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I'M NOT DEAD!!! Hip Hip Hooray!!
> 
> So sorry for not updating in so long!!
> 
> I've just been piling on work and school, that I haven't been able to do a lot of writing lately. So sorry I couldn't get this in sooner.


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